Never Say Never
by songsofthestars
Summary: Scarr one-shot. The truth about Hope comes out, and Tess retakes control and flees town with her. Schuyler accompanies Starr and Cole on their mission to rescue her, and he and Starr begin to wonder if they closed the book on their relationship too soon.


Hey, guys! For those of you who read You Found Me- I'm so sorry about the wait, I promise you'll have an update soon! This idea just grabbed me and I wanted to get it out. It's based on what I wish we were getting with the Hope storyline. It's not explicit Scarr, just a vague, maybe someday, kind of thing, but it makes me feel better writing it all the same ^_^ This fic starts right after Cole and Starr have found out Hope is alive, and Tess has just come back out and taken off with her.

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"We have to hurry, Cole," Starr rambled, frantically tossing their bags in the trunk. "My dad could be here any second, and I _know_ he's going to try and stop us, say let the cops deal with it, but the cops don't understand Jessica's disorder, they don't know what's going on, it just seems like a mom leaving with her baby to them! We have to-"

"Starr," Cole quickly cut her off, attempting to reassure her even as his eyes betrayed his own panic and fear. "We _will_ find her, and we'll bring her home, okay? I promise."

"I know," she said, though she still sounded unconvinced. "God, I just wish it wasn't just the two of us."

"We can do this, Starr," Cole said, furrowing his brow and seeming hurt by that remark.

"Cole, come on. Our love for Hope, or whatever you're thinking about, is not going to stop Tess. We don't know what we're doing! We could really use some help," she sighed darkly, terrified they were going to catch up to Tess and Hope only to set Tess off and make it worse.

"Well then, good thing I'm coming with you."

Starr and Cole both instantly whipped around, startled by the new voice, and their jaws nearly hit the floor in unison at the sight of Schuyler stalking over to them, his face hard and determined, a bag slung over his shoulder.

"_Schuyler?_" she asked slowly, her voice soft and stunned. This was only about the third time she'd seen him ever since they'd said their goodbyes at the hospital.

"Starr," he greeted her calmly, nodding in her direction; Starr noticed that he didn't actually look at her, and frowned. "I just heard about everything, and I knew there was no way you were going to sit around and wait for the authorities to sort this out." Ah, he still knew her well, apparently.

"She's my daughter," Starr said simply, her voice emotional. "I _just_ found out she's alive, and now she's gone- how could I do nothing?"

"You couldn't; I certainly wouldn't expect you to, you have every reason to go after Tess. And I'm going to help you," he informed them both calmly.

"Hell no; no you're not!" Cole thundered, furious as always over Schuyler's presence, and being left out of this conversation. "Hope is _our_ baby, we can handle this."

"Really, Cole? You can handle an armed kidnapper? Like you handled Zach Rosen?" Schuyler asked coldly; Starr's eyebrows practically shot up into her hairline; she really hadn't expected something like that to ever come out of Schuyler's mouth, especially to Cole, whom Schuyler seemed to have infinite patience with.

"Why the hell would you even-"

"Cole, don't," Starr murmured. She tried again to catch Schuyler's eye, but again, he evaded the attempt.

"Look, it's great that you want to play savior or whatever, but no thanks, we're good."

"I'm not letting a couple of teenagers run off to try and deal with this themselves!" Schuyler replied sharply, _finally_ looking in Starr's direction, for just a moment, his eyes dark with concern. Starr smiled softly, as it suddenly hit her what he really meant; he was _worried_ about them- or at least, _her_.

"Well, you don't get a-"

"Cole, stop it," Starr ordered quietly. "Schuyler is trained in dealing with unstable people, he knows what he's doing a lot more than us." She then glanced at Schuyler hesitantly. "But, isn't Stacy going to mind you just taking off all of the sudden?" Oh, look at that; for the first time since she'd stumbled upon Schuyler making out with his ex-girlfriend at the hospital, she'd managed to say the other girl's name without it sounding like a curse word.

"Probably," he snorted. "But she can deal with it; this is more important."

"Okay, well…thank you," Starr simply said with a warm smile. "We could really use your help if you want to offer it."

"And I do."

"Unbelievable," Cole sighed in exasperation, throwing his arms in the air.

"Cole," Starr sighed, grabbing his hand and pulling him back to her. He glared at her expectantly, and Starr kissed him; Schuyler uncomfortably looked away. "Just try to be nice, for me, and Hope, okay?" she murmured.

"For you and Hope," he agreed reluctantly, lightly brushing his fingers across her cheek before getting into the drivers seat.

Starr bit her lip, nervous about being in Schuyler's presence, alone; it had been so long since they'd been with each other in just a normal situation like this; after-all, the last two times they'd been alone at all had been when she was frantically tearing off her clothes, and then that horrible moment at the hospital, where, without meaning to, Starr had inadvertently made it sound like Schuyler had never meant a thing to her, and he'd told her they couldn't even be friends.

Unsure of what she could possibly say to him when there was _so_ much left unspoken, when so much had come between them, Starr, the closest to the still open trunk, simply held her hand out to take Schuyler's bag, hoping the friendly gesture might say what she wanted to but couldn't. He smiled cautiously, making her breathe a little easier, and handed it over. His fingers brushed hers for a moment, and Starr felt a surge of heat and blushed, quickly drawing her arm back. _Damn it_, this was why she'd been trying to _avoid_ him; it was easy enough to ignore that gnawing sense of doubt and regret when he wasn't _there._

Schuyler slid into the backseat, and Starr hesitated as she shut the trunk, glancing between the two available seats in the car, before deciding to just go for it.

With a deep breath, Starr mustered her courage and got into the backseat beside Schuyler. She'd missed being able to talk to him, and turn to him, to an almost _painful_ degree ever since he'd told her they couldn't be friends. Despite the fact that she'd only been going to Schuyler because she _couldn't_ go to Cole (or so she chose to believe), she was quickly discovering that actually talking to Cole couldn't compare. He didn't just _get it_ like Schuyler did, which had been frustrating to discover; his mere presence didn't have the soothing effect Schuyler's did.

As she pulled the door shut, Schuyler and Cole both gaped at her for a moment, Schuyler looking intensely uncomfortable, which hurt her, and Cole looking pissed off, which she ignored. They both seemed to be waiting for her to say something, but she remained silent, irritated by that; she didn't have to explain herself and how she felt all the time, she was sick of people acting like she did.

"Off we go," Cole muttered uncomfortably, pulling out of the driveway.

"Do you know where she might go?"

"My guess is that she'll pretend to still be Jessica and go to the parents of her late husband, who was also Bree and Chloe's dad," Starr answered Schuyler. "At least until she figures out a more solid plan. Does that make sense to you?"

"As much as anything an alternate personality would do."

She nodded, and they all asked a few casual, awkward questions to fill the time, until Cole hit the freeway, and a tense silence settled over them. Cole looked like his thoughts were in the same place as hers, simply focusing on Hope and the task they had ahead of them to bring her back, but Schuyler seemed more conflicted and upset about something, his eyes darkened and heavy as he gazed out the window.

"Schuyler," she said his name softly. He glanced over, and there was a surprising flicker of guilt in his eyes. "You okay?"

"You shouldn't be worrying about that right now," he muttered. "Focus on yourself."

"Nobody ever told you women have a great ability to multitask?" she demanded, cocking an eyebrow. "Trust me, I have _plenty_ of worry to go around." He had no reaction, and she sighed. "Schuyler…why did you really want to come?" she asked softly.

Cole was gazing at them curiously in the rearview mirror, his eyes rough and defensive; he obviously wasn't happy she was talking to Schuyler and not him. Whatever, that wasn't her problem, he could deal with his insecurity on his own.

"Starr, I told you, I just want-"

"Schuyler, I know what you told me, I just want to know the full reason, because I can tell not wanting us to do this alone isn't it. You only could have heard about all of this in like, the last couple of hours, there had to have been some big reason for you to immediately come rushing over."

Schuyler was quiet for a long time, contemplatively gazing out the window, and when he finally spoke a minute later in a rough, quiet tone, he still did not look at her.

"You and Hope wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for my mom and me. She was helping out your dad because of me, and I know the guilt pushed her to make mistakes; she _should_ have figured out the baby she found wasn't yours- she was the best in her field, she shouldn't have been fooled so easily! And then she _killed_ herself," he spat bitterly, grief making his voice rise and shake. "And left us all with so many unanswered questions; I'm sure this all would have been figured out a hell of a lot sooner if she had just stuck through it, if she hadn't taken the easy way out like a coward."

"Schuyler, don't say that about your mom," Starr replied emotionally, looking at him with stunned eyes. He didn't mean that, she knew him too well; he had every right to be upset with his mom for leaving him, but he would regret speaking about her that way. "That's not even true, it wasn-"

"It was, Starr," he cut her off shortly. "It was, and the way I see it, helping you get Hope back is the least of what my family owes you."

"You don't owe me a thing, Schuyler," she said sadly, shaking her head in disbelief. "Bess and Tess are the only, uh, 'people' to blame for this; not you, not your mom."

Cole snorted, rolling his eyes flippantly, and Starr sharply turned to stare at him in disbelief; what the _hell_ was his problem? She'd chosen him, he'd won- or at least, he would have if Schuyler had actually wanted her too, if he'd _been_ a choice. Why the hell did he still hate Schuyler so much?

"Even if you did owe me anything," she continued tightly, tearing her eyes from Cole back to Schuyler's stiff form. "You've _already_ made it up to me."

"How?" he asked in disbelief.

"Can I second that question? Keeping us apart, and by that, keeping us from finding out the truth about _our baby_ even longer, doesn't seem like making it up to someone to me."

"Cole!" she shouted furiously, before turning back to Schuyler with tender eyes. "By being there for me when nobody else was," she told him softly.

Cole flinched, acting like she'd punched him, and Starr sighed. Despite what Cole obviously thought, that remark had nothing to do with him, it was not supposed to be some kind of jab or reminder of how he'd let her down, it was simply the truth.

"You were _always_ there, even when I must have seemed crazy and anybody else would have run."

Schuyler didn't respond, but swallowed roughly, pressing his fist to his mouth as he clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Her heart aching for him, Starr cautiously reached out and gently took his free hand in hers, lightly rubbing her thumb across his knuckles comfortingly. Rather than pull away, as she'd assumed he immediately would, Schuyler squeezed her hand tightly, holding on for dear life even as he refused to look her way.

"Starr, do you think Hope might somehow just sort of…instinctively know us?" Cole blurted out, obviously just scrambling for something to take her attention off Schuyler.

Schuyler abruptly ripped his hand from hers at the sound of Cole's voice, and Starr sighed as she turned her attention to the boy in the front, mentally preparing for what was clearly going to be the most uncomfortable car ride of her life.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

That night, Schuyler was still tense as he tugged a pair of sweat pants on after showering; Starr had been underestimating earlier- that had quite possibly been the most uncomfortable car ride of _anyone's_ life.

He had to admit, it was a relief to be stopped for the night; Starr had been desperate to just keep going, but he and Cole had finally managed to convince her that none of them would be any good to Hope if someone fell asleep at the wheel. She was currently off with Cole in a separate room, a fact Schuyler was trying to pretend he wasn't uncomfortable with, that it didn't bother him.

There was a short knock on the door a second later, before he could grab a shirt, but Schuyler quickly crossed the room to answer it anyway- considering their current situation, it could easily be something extremely important.

Schuyler was startled when the door swung open to reveal Starr, head hung low, messing with her hair as her shoulders slumped.

"Starr?"

"Um, hi, Schuyler," she said slowly, her voice oddly strained.

"Starr, what's wrong?" he asked immediately, his voice low and concerned. She bit her lip, and weakly shrugged.

"I'm just…I don't know, I'm freaking out right now, and being around Cole just makes it worse, so I can't be, and I just needed somewhere to go," she muttered, her voice oddly flat for someone who was freaking out.

Schuyler gazed at her softly, then, against his better judgment, held the door open wider.

"Come on in," he said quietly.

She quickly flashed him a grateful smile, and slowly walked in, settling on the edge of the bed as he shut the door. Schuyler hovered right by the door, careful to keep his distance.

_Some_ people might wonder about why he felt the need to keep a physical distance if his feelings were so non-existent, if he was so committed to making round two with Stacy work. After-all, if he loved someone else and Starr was just a student he felt friendly towards, there would be no danger in being near her, right? _Schuyler_, however, was not some people, and was totally not asking himself that. Nope. Not at all. Not even a little bit. That was his story, and he was sticking to it.

For what must have been the thousandth time that day, there was only silence, but for the first time, it was peaceful, not tense, not uncomfortable. It was almost…well, the way things used to be, when Starr needed to talk to him, but would just sit quietly as she struggled to find the words.

Starr was silent and still, just gazing out the small window by the bed with her fist pressed her to lips, not doing anything- copying his exact same behavior from earlier in the day. Schuyler knew he should walk away, at the very least to get fully dressed, but he had a bad feeling Starr shouldn't be left alone right now. She wouldn't have come to him, of all people, after how they'd ended things, if she didn't need someone desperately.

"Starr…" he murmured, finally breaking her concentration. Hand to mouth still, her eyes flickered over to him, and Schuyler was stunned to see them shining with unshed tears. "Oh, Starr," he sighed sympathetically, logic flying out the window as he instinctively went to her side, cautiously setting onto the bed next to her. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"I'm just really scared about Hope being with Tess," she choked out. "I have spent so long thinking my baby was _dead_, and then I found out it's like God actually listened to my prayers, that she's actually alive, only to have Tess take off with her. I don't even know for sure if we're going to find her, or if we'll be able to handle her when we do, and oh God, if something happens to Hope…" she trailed off with a shudder, frantically shaking her head.

"Hey, Starr, look at me," Schuyler said firmly, his voice intense. She glanced up, startled by the fire in his eyes. "I _will not_ let _anything_ happen to your baby- I _promise_ you."

She smiled softly, nodding and wiping her eyes. Starr knew, even with the rush of guilt she felt for it, having this moment with Cole wouldn't have felt like such a relief, it wouldn't have comforted her the way this one did.

"Thank you, Schuyler. But you don't…you shouldn't feel like you have some kind of obligation to be Hope's savior because of your mom, okay? I meant what I said; I don't blame either of you at _all._"

"Cole does," he said simply, with no hint of bitterness or frustration over this fact; Starr knew he felt it was no less than what he deserved, which greatly saddened her. "As long as he feels that way, then I do have an obligation to you two. But I would do everything in my power to keep Hope safe even if I didn't."

Starr sighed at the mention of Cole, averting her eyes again, and Schuyler recalled what she'd said at his door.

"Starr, why did you say being around Cole is making you feel worse?" he asked gently.

Starr suddenly buried her head in her hands, taking a gasping breath as the tears burned even more fiercely, the guilt and pain she felt overwhelming her.

"Because Cole thinks we're going to raise her," she whispered brokenly.

"What?" Schuyler asked slowly, appearing confused.

"He…" Starr inhaled slowly and deeply, looking him in the eyes as she explained. "He thinks when we get her back, because of everything that's happened, we're just obviously going to keep her this time, and raise her and be together as this little happy family. And why not, right? That makes sense, it's what any sane girl would do, but _I_ can't do that- I _won't_," she confessed.

Starr was instinctively waiting for a bad reaction, like the one she was fearing from Cole, but Schuyler just looked patient and deeply empathetic, and Starr's heart lightened slightly in relief; this was the biggest difference between Schuyler and Cole.

"I'm not any more ready to raise a baby and be a mom than I was when I gave birth- this baby should be Marcie's; she loves her every bit as much as I do, she's grieved her just as deeply, and she is _so_ ready to be a mom- Hope will get to be part of _such_ a happy family with her and Michael. And I just…I don't think I want to be this permanent family unit with Cole," Starr admitted, shame faced. "I don't want to practically be his wife already."

Unlike most teenage girls who claimed to be so deeply in love with their boyfriend, she got no sense of joy when she imagined being with Cole forever, raising a family with him. It only made her feel stifled, scared, regretful. It was starting to make her question just how happy she was with Cole, which made her feel hideously guilty. Cole wanted her, he loved her; he acted like the fact that he'd gotten her back was the luckiest thing that had ever happened to anyone anywhere. Why couldn't she return that feeling as strongly as she wanted to? Why didn't she want this family with him?

"Starr, it's _insane_ to feel guilty for that," Schuyler replied, though his voice wasn't dismissive as others might have been. "You are _seventeen_." The fact that had been haunting him since the day they met. "Of course you're not ready to be a wife and mother- just like Cole's not ready to be a husband or father; the difference is that you're realistic enough to accept that. Cole just doesn't understand yet, but-"

"He's not going to," she interrupted him sadly. "He's going to hate me."

"No, he's not."

"You don't understand, Schuyler, you don't know Cole. He's not like…" Starr trailed off uncomfortably, as she had just been about to say 'like you.' Schuyler was the one person she had always felt safe running to, with no fear of being looked down upon, judged, hated, pitied; he'd always taken her as she was and just understood and tried to help. "I know Cole better than anyone, so I know that he's not all forgiving, that he doesn't always try to understand, and I know that his respect, his friendship, his love all come with conditions. And I'm about to break those conditions, and I guarantee you, he will hate me."

"Starr, if that's true, Cole's a jerk, okay?" Schuyler snapped sharply. "And you shouldn't even waste your time caring what he thinks."

"It's not that simple, Schuyler! You can't always just turn feelings off, y'know!" she snapped; Schuyler glanced away uncomfortably. Yeah, he knew that. "Cole is like, all I have. I can't just give up my baby right after I get her back, lose Cole, and then when I'm left with nothing, just say 'Oh, well, I'm better off!'"

"Starr, come on, you wouldn't have nothing." She rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm serious; Cole is far from all you have, you should know that. You'd have Langston, Markko, your mom…me," he added after struggling through his hesitation, his voice so quiet that it was almost impossible to her. Starr gazed at him with wide, stunned eyes.

"What?"

"If…if Cole does let you down, and you ever need someone, you can always come to me, okay? I promise." Starr cocked an eyebrow.

"So I only needed to be a _month_ older for us to be friends?" she asked sharply, the hurt she'd felt when he'd rejected her attempt to befriend him not erased. He chuckled in good nature.

"I may have spoken too soon when I said we couldn't be friends; I would really like to just…get back to how we used to be, before things fell apart, if you think that's possible."

_'And here you go again'_ a quiet voice in his head remarked bitterly. Wasn't that how he'd gotten into this situation in the first place? Getting in too deep with a student? There shouldn't have been anything _to_ fall apart in the first place, nothing to 'get back' to.

But…Starr's hopeful, brightened eyes suddenly made it impossible for him to regret the offer.

"I'd really love that, Schuyler," she said sincerely, cracking a smile, which he returned.

Starr felt a soothing sense of peace for the first time in ages, and suddenly, _finally_, as they sat there just gazing at each other, it hit her that Schuyler was _shirtless_. Her head had been spinning when she came in, so frazzled and confused and upset that it hadn't even registered. Now that it processed, Starr felt herself blushing furiously, the room suddenly feeling extremely hot, and she furiously tried to ignore the stirring of desire low in her stomach. She struggled to think of Cole, but much to her frustration, he seemed to be the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.

"So, um…I should probably go," she laughed nervously, struggling to keep her eyes off of him. "We're going to have a…very intense day tomorrow," she muttered, all thoughts of anything but Hope, all feelings but those of worry, instantly disappearing in response to those words.

"It'll be okay, Starr," Schuyler reassured her sweetly. "I promise, everything will work out, and be okay, and we will bring Hope home, safe and sound."

Starr gazed at her feet silently for a moment, a smile slowly tugging at her lips.

"You know…I think you're the only person I actually believe when they say something like that."

She glanced up and saw him just gazing at her with a warm smile. Without even realizing what she was doing until it was too late, Starr impulsively leaned forward and hugged him; Schuyler froze for a moment, then quickly, gently, wrapped his arms around her, lightly nuzzling his cheek against her hair, just as he'd done all the other times she'd hugged him- and just like those times, the simple little gesture made Starr feel safe.

They held each other in silence for several minutes, until the fog around Starr's mind cleared slightly, and his lack of clothing, the warm skin beneath her hands, became harder not to notice. She breathed in deeply, and that twist in her stomach returned, even more fiercely- okay, it was officially time to go.

Starr quickly pulled out of his embrace, failing to notice the momentary flash of disappointment in his eyes as she nervously glanced away from him.

"Thanks again for everything, Schuyler. So, um, I'll see you in the morning- good night," she said in a rush.

"Good night," he echoed her.

Starr quickly turned and left the room before she could second guess herself, quietly collapsing against the wood the moment it shut as she took a shaky breath; damn it, damn it, _damn_ it. When was all this- the confusing feelings, the rush of chemistry, the comfort and security, all of it- ever going to go away? Why couldn't her heart finally accept what her mind had long ago, that Schuyler had just been transference for her feelings for Cole, and it was time to direct those feelings _back_ to her boyfriend?

This book was closed, she knew that; hell, Schuyler was probably calling Stacy right now, telling her how much he'd missed her. The thought hurt more than Starr would ever admit, and with a resigned sigh, she walked back to her and Cole's room.

Starr had no idea Schuyler had focused a longing gaze on the door the moment she left.

In their room, Cole tried to convince her to sleep (as in literally, just fall asleep) with him, but she managed to worm out of it and collapsed into the second bed, exhausted. Cole seemed hurt, but honestly, she was doing the nice thing here, the _right_ thing; lying in his arms when she had just been thinking about Schuyler, and how certain she was that her and Cole's relationship was about to implode, just seemed sick.

Rather than give any more attention to those conflicted feelings racing through her, Starr just focused on tomorrow; tomorrow would be the greatest day of her life, because it would be the day she was finally reunited with Hope- she truly trusted that, had enough faith in Schuyler's promise, if nothing else, to believe that.

With that thought at the forefront of her mind, Starr fell into a peaceful sleep for the first time in weeks; unable to help thinking that this upcoming reunion with her once thought to be dead baby was proof that you _really_ could never say never to anything, no matter how impossible it seemed. If _that_ wasn't a comforting thought, she didn't know what was.


End file.
